Pet Insurance Cost Cutting System/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

Ziggy_Stardust

headpin wrote: »

I have two British Shorthair kittens and the LV quote (sorry it's £5k per condition not £4k as I thought) is £17.33/month for both (£8.25 for the little girl and £9.08 for her brother). Whereas the monthly cost from Petplan is £33.08 for their budget cover or £46.82 for their Supercat cover.

That's a big difference over say a 12 - 15 year average life expectancy (I suppose what would be interesting is what the statistical likelihood of the kittens suffering a lifetime chronic condition is?)

Gosh that is a big difference. Sometimes I do wonder if companies take advantage of our love for our pets.

headpin

Ziggy_Stardust wrote: »

Gosh that is a big difference. Sometimes I do wonder if companies take advantage of our love for our pets.

It certainly is!!

I have also received a quote from Saga (sorry you under 50's don't qualify, only for us wrinklies!!). They are quoting £20.69 per month to cover both Kittens on their Supercover which provides Lifetime cover at £5k per year. I checked Saga on the Review Centre site (http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews152622.html) where they only have a few reviews but in the main positive. And, in any case, regardless of what happens and the way any insurer acts today doesn't guarnatee that they will continue to act in the same way next year or in a few years time. So, I suppose like all of these types of product it's all a bit of a gamble?

Saga now looks like the preferred choice. Does anyone on here have any views or experience on them?

Welshichi

Hello

I am new to this forum and I read most of the new posts on here but still I am very confused about pet insurance.

I have got a two year old Rottweiler cross Mastiff who is slowly developing hip displysia and I need to find the right dog insurance for him but do not know which would be the best for his condition.

Any suggestions would be very helpful indeed as I have never taken out dog insurance for my other Rottweiler cross Doberman.

cathodetube

Welshiichi,

If your dog has already been diagnosed with hip problems then no insurer will treat for pre-existing conditions as far as I am aware.

cathodetube

Anyone see Watchdog tonight? At least two companies - M and S and MoreThan have agreed to cancel the part where you have to pay the rest of the year's premiums even though your pet has died.

Sooz00

Was really please to see M&S mentioned though think there were a lot more areas the programme could have touched on. Still, very pleased to see it on there full stop. :)

Not 2 companies as such though as M&S/More Than are both underwritten by RSA so I'm guessing it's RSA that have made the change.

catlou

As mentioned earlier there was a section on Pet Insurance on watchdog last night they went over some cases of the problems people have had premiums increasing dramatically, cover not enough, changes to policies, people having to still pay premiums after Pets have died etc. They also gave recommendations on what policies to look out for when buying.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode...og_28_10_2010/ From about 16 mins

It was ok........but as many people know from this thread it's a minefield and I don't think they explained it anywhere near well enough for most people. I reckon there are a few posters on here far more informed than the guy (from the British Veterinary Association) who was making the recommendations!

Anyway at the end of the show they asked people to get in touch with any problems they have had with Pet Insurance.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/gotastory/

Hopefully the more people that get in touch they might look into it in more detail as the Pet Insurance companies seem to be getting away with doubling premiums and generally doing whatever they feel like. The whole thing is shocking as anyone who has read this thread will know. It is leaving many people sensible enough to want decent for life pet insurance unable to afford it due to the increases in cost.

I'm gonna send my story in now! Come on Name and Shame them!

ps. I have also started a new thread to post this and encourage people to get in touch and complain if they have had problems!

cathodetube

Sooz00 wrote: »

Was really please to see M&S mentioned though think there were a lot more areas the programme could have touched on. Still, very pleased to see it on there full stop. :)

Not 2 companies as such though as M&S/More Than are both underwritten by RSA so I'm guessing it's RSA that have made the change.

Is it the underwriter who makes the change? I don't know.

headpin

cathodetube wrote: »

Is it the underwriter who makes the change? I don't know.

Usually, as it is the Underwriter that is taking the risk and therefore setting the rules.

cbelle

The related money saving article suggests comparing first on money supermarket but it didnt seem to do a comparison just link you to individual companies. Have I done something wrong I can't find a way to make an actual comparison. Its seems you have to do the cumbersome working through each site.